Retractable nail brush

ABSTRACT

A retractable nail brush for artificially enhancing nails is disclosed, comprising a body with a lengthwise oriented slot, a bristle mount operably configured to slide into and out of the body, a plurality of bristles secured to the bristle mount, and a slide retainer operably configured to slide in the slot and retain the bristle mount to the body. The retractable nail brush may be articulated using one hand to promote ease of use as well as to store bristles in the body to prevent their contamination.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to cosmetology instruments, and more particularly to nail brushes for artificial nail enhancement of a person's fingernails.

Many cosmetic nail brushes have been developed to apply acrylic compounds for sculpting artificial nails to one's natural nail plate during artificial nail enhancement procedures. For example, cosmetic nail brushes having bristles fastened to generally straight and slender wooden handles have long been known. While these types of cosmetic nail brushes are useful for one-time or disposable uses, a continual need exists for novel approaches for multiple use nail brushes that enable a nail care professional, using only one hand, to easily prevent contamination of the nail brush bristles during use of the device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a retractable nail brush for artificially enhancing nails, comprising a body with a lengthwise oriented slot, a bristle mount operably configured to slide into and out of the body, a plurality of bristles secured to the bristle mount, and a slide retainer operably configured to slide in the slot and retain the bristle mount to the body. The retractable nail brush may be articulated using one hand to promote ease of use as well as to store bristles in the body to prevent their contamination.

A better understanding of the objects, advantages, features, properties and relationships of the invention will be obtained from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings which set forth illustrative embodiments that are indicative of the various ways in which the principles of the invention may be employed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to preferred embodiments shown in the following drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a prior art nail brush, shown assembled with a cover;

FIG. 2 illustrates another perspective view of the prior art nail brush of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates an exploded perspective view of the prior art nail brush of FIG. 1 showing the cover removed from the brush/handle combination;

FIG. 4 illustrates a perspective view of a retractable nail brush embodying the present invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates another perspective view of the retractable nail brush of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 illustrates an exploded view of the retractable nail brush of FIG. 4 showing the fully articulated brush;

FIG. 7 illustrates another exploded view of the retractable nail brush of FIG. 4 showing the fully retracted brush;

FIG. 8 illustrates a top view of the retractable nail brush of FIG. 4 shown with the brush fully articulated and without the cap;

FIG. 9 illustrates a front elevational view of the retractable nail brush of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 illustrates a bottom plan view of the retractable nail brush of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 illustrates a left side elevational view of the retractable nail brush of FIG. 8;

FIG. 12 illustrates a right side elevational view of the retractable nail brush of FIG. 8;

FIG. 13 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the retractable nail brush along line 13-13 of FIG. 11 and/or FIG. 12; and

FIG. 14 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the retractable nail brush along line 14-14 of FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Turning now to the figures, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements, there is illustrated in FIGS. 1-3 a prior art nail brush 1 of conventional design including cover 2, ferrule 3, handle 4, and bristles 5. In the closed configuration shown in FIGS. 1-2, a mild friction fit exists between cover 2 and handle 4 to maintain their unity. Cover 2 provides protection to bristles 5 from contamination when nail brush 1 is not being used by the nail care professional. As shown in FIG. 1, cover 2 may include hole 6 to enable trapped moisture to escape from bristles 5 when cover 2 is mounted onto handle 4. As shown in FIG. 3, bristles 5 are secured in ferrule 3 using conventional means, such as by crimp 7 of ferrule 3. Finally, ferrule 3 is conventionally secured to handle 4 via an interference fit between the two parts. As shown in the figures and described below, however, prior art nail brush 1 lacks a means for the nail care professional to easily protect bristles 5 from contamination of debris during use of the nail brush, without resorting to stopping work and installing cover 2 to accomplish this goal.

FIGS. 4-14 illustrate retractable nail brush 10 embodying the present invention useful for applying acrylic monomers and the like to one's fingernails during the process of artificial nail enhancement. As will be shown and described below, the present invention provides the nail care professional with multiple options to prevent contamination of the bristles of retractable nail brush 10 during use of the device.

FIGS. 4-5 illustrate retractable nail brush 10 in its fully assembled and closed condition. Although retractable nail brush 10 is shown having a generally round cross section, in practice, retractable nail brush 10 may comprise any one of a number of cross sectional shapes; preferably the overall length should be at least three times its cross sectional diameter to maintain overall instrument balance and ease of use. In addition, while retractable nail brush 10 is shown generally straight, in practice, nail brush 10 may alternatively be curved and/or ergonomically contoured.

Referring to FIGS. 4-5, retractable nail brush 10 may include cap 20 and body 30. Cap 20 is optionally designed to be slidably retained by body 30 via a mild friction fit between cap 20 and body 30. Cap 20 may be placed on either end of body 30, such as, for example, on open end 28 of body 30 for maximum protection of bristles 50, or on closed end 29 of body 30 to insure that cap 20 does not become lost during use of retractable nail brush 10. Cap 20 may include vent 22 to enable air to escape from inside cap 20 during the process of installing cap 20 onto body 30. Vent 22 may also allow trapped moisture to escape from inside retractable nail brush 10 when retractable nail brush 10 is in its closed condition. Allowing moisture to escape minimizes the potential for corrosion on internal surfaces of retractable nail brush 10 if retractable nail brush 10 is made from materials susceptible to corrosion.

FIG. 6-7 illustrates exploded views of the retractable nail brush 10 of the present invention shown in its fully articulated and fully retracted positions, respectively. As shown in FIG. 6, retractable nail brush may include cap 20, body 30, bristle mount 40, and bristles 50. Bristles 50 may comprise a plurality of natural or synthetic filaments 51 that are compatible with the chemicals that are typically used in the artificial nail enhancement industry, such as acrylic monomers. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, bristles 50 may be secured to bristle mount 40 using any number of known means, such as by inserting filaments 51 through bristle mount 40 and crimping bristle mount 40, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 9 at crimp 39.

Retractable nail brush 10 may also include slide retainer 34 and slot 32 for extending and retracting bristle mount 40 and bristles 50 out from and into body 30. The length of slot 32 generally determines the maximum displacement of bristle mount 40, and ultimately, bristles 50. Slide retainer 34 may be affixed to bristle mount 40, or as described below, may instead be affixed to bristle mount adapter 44. Slide retainer 34 may slide longitudinally along body 30 within slot 32.

FIGS. 8-10 illustrate top plan, front elevational, and bottom plan views, respectively, of the retractable nail brush 10 of the present invention in its fully articulated position. While many users of the present invention may wish to use the device in its fully articulated position as shown in FIGS. 8-10, retractable nail brush 10 may also be used with slide retainer 34 extended to any position along the length of slot 32 so long as bristles 50 are still at least partially extended past open end 28 of body 30.

As illustrated in FIG. 13, retractable nail brush 10 may also include bristle mount adapter 44, which is mountable to bristle mount 40. An interference fit between bristle mount adapter 44 and bristle mount 40 insures that bristle mount 40 does not separate from bristle mount adapter 44 during use. Of course, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, retractable nail brush 10 need not include bristle mount adapter 44 if slide retainer 34 is instead secured directly to bristle mount 40. In addition, while bristle mount adapter 44 is shown in FIGS. 13-14 as being a tube, bristle mount adapter 44 may instead be a solid cylinder, or any configuration that performs a similar function.

Finally, as shown in FIGS. 13-14, for ease of articulation of retractable nail brush 10, a loose fit may exist between outer diameter 41 of bristle mount 40 and inner diameter 31 of body 30. However, a slip fit or even a mild friction fit may alternatively be desirable to assist the user in maintaining the position of slide retainer 34 relative to body 30, and ultimately bristles 50. If outer diameter 41 of bristle mount 40 is too small relative to inner diameter 31 of body, then an undesirable wobble may result. Therefore, proper fitting parts help promote smooth operation of the articulation feature of retractable nail brush 10 while also promoting good overall handling characteristics of the device.

As will be understood by those of skill in the art, and as particularly illustrated in FIGS. 8-14, a user of retractable nail brush 10 may, with one hand, apply slight pressure from one's finger or thumb to slide retainer 34 to articulate retractable nail brush 10. In this way, a user of retractable nail brush 10, with one hand, may extend bristle mount 40 to use bristles 50 to apply an acrylic monomer to a person's fingernails. Likewise, using one hand, a user may then retract bristle mount 40 so bristles 50 lie partially or completely protected from debris contamination within body 30 without resorting to using the other hand to affix cap 20 to body 30 to accomplish the same goal.

As mentioned above, during use of retractable nail brush 10, cap may be placed on closed end 29 of body 30 to help insure that cap 20 does not become lost during use of retractable nail brush 10. In addition, when installing cap 20 over open end 28 of body 30 to close retractable nail brush 10, cap 20 may be designed to push on slide retainer 34 so as to partially or completely retract brush 50 in one step.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and alternatives to those details could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure. Accordingly, the particular arrangement disclosed is meant to be illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the invention which is to be given the full breadth of the appended claims and any equivalents thereof. 

1. A cosmetic nail brush for artificially enhancing fingernails, comprising: a body having a longitudinally oriented slot, the body having at least one open end; a bristle mount operably configured to slide into and out of the body through the at least one open end; a plurality of bristles secured to the bristle mount; and a slide retainer extending from the bristle mount and positioned through the slot in the body, the slide retainer operably configured to retain the bristle mount to the body.
 2. The cosmetic nail brush described in claim 1, wherein the slide retainer is operably configured for extending and retracting the bristle mount into and out of the body.
 3. The cosmetic nail brush described in claim 2, wherein the bristle mount is extendable and retractable using only one digit of one's hand to any position along the length of the slot.
 4. The cosmetic nail brush described in claim 3 further including a cap, the cap operably configured for the removable closure of the at least one open end of the body to form a substantially enclosed space, the cap operably configured for slidable retention to the body.
 5. The cosmetic nail brush described in claim 4, wherein the cap is operably configured to retract the bristle mount to any position along the length of the slot.
 6. The cosmetic nail brush described in claim 5, wherein the cap includes an aperture for venting moisture from the enclosed space.
 7. The cosmetic nail brush described in claim 1, wherein the plurality of bristles are operably configured to withstand and apply a monomer to one's fingernails during artificial nail enhancement procedures.
 8. The cosmetic nail brush described in claim 1, wherein the bristle mount includes a crimp to retain the plurality of bristles to the bristle mount.
 9. The cosmetic nail brush described in claim 1, wherein the plurality of bristles are embedded in the bristle mount.
 10. A cosmetic nail brush for artificially enhancing fingernails, comprising; a generally hollow body having a longitudinally oriented slot, the body having at least one open end; a bristle mount operably configured to slide into and out of the body through the at least one open end, the bristle mount having an open end; a bristle mount adapter secured to and extending from the open end of the bristle mount; a plurality of bristles secured to the bristle mount; a slide retainer radially extending from the bristle mount adapter and positioned through the slot in the body, the slide retainer operably configured to retain the bristle mount to the body; a cap operably configured for the removable closure of the at least one open end of the body to form a substantially enclosed space, the cap operably configured for slidable retention to the body. wherein the bristle mount adapter is operably configured for extending and retracting the bristle mount into and out of the body; wherein the bristle mount is extendable and retractable using only one digit of one's hand to any position along the length of the slot.
 11. The cosmetic nail brush described in claim 10, wherein the cap includes an aperture for venting moisture from the enclosed space.
 12. The cosmetic nail brush described in claim 10, wherein the plurality of bristles are operably configured to withstand and apply a monomer to one's fingernails during artificial nail enhancement procedures.
 13. The cosmetic nail brush described in claim 10, wherein the bristle mount includes a crimp to retain the plurality of bristles to the bristle mount.
 14. The cosmetic nail brush described in claim 10, wherein the plurality of bristles are embedded in the bristle mount. 